Friday Night SmackDown Review - May 22, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Fatal Influence Interrupted WWE Women's Champion Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss

Although it's been basic, I do dig the seeds of dissension they've been plating with Ripley and Flair given their history. I don't know if it's leading to them rekindling their rivalry, but I wouldn't mind if they did, if only for a one-off, especially if the WWE Women's Championship was on the line. As for this match, it was perfectly passable, but it was more so designed to establish that Ripley and Flair are (mostly) on the same page heading into Saturday Night's Main Event.

Talla Tonga def. Shinsuke Nakamura

Whatever story they're trying to tell with Tama Tonga and Solo Sikoa is taking way too long, which has been pretty much been the case with everything involving The MFTs since they formed last year, so I can't say I'm shocked. This wasn't a bad match, but it was certainly boring. The only thing worth noting came afterward when Tama Tonga teased saving Nakamura, only to attack him instead. So much for that.

Women's United States Champion Tiffany Stratton def. Lash Legend

Oba Femi's weekly open challenges on Raw are apparently over after Brock Lesnar returned and attacked him on Monday night, but apparently Stratton is taking over the open challenge gimmick. Ugh. I have no desire to see this become a regular thing. I'm all for the Women's United States Championship being defended more, but just give us actual storylines! This was decent, and I thought Legend had a solid showing, but I'm more interested in where this alliance (?) between Stratton and Chelsea Green might be going.

Carmelo Hayes Interrupted United States Champion Trick Williams and Lil Yatchy; Williams def. Hayes (Non-Title)

I was happy to see Hayes confront Williams given their history, but I wish they didn't rush into their first one-on-one match on the main roster. It was enjoyable, but a bit more build would've been appreciated. On the bright side, Williams remains undefeated against Hayes, so they can always save Hayes finally beating Williams for down the road. Ricky Saints costing Hayes the win also protected Hayes in defeat.

Charlotte Flair and WWE Women's Champion Rhea Ripley def. Fatal Influence (Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley)

I know they teamed for a six-woman tag match a few weeks ago, but I believe this may have been the first time it was just Flair and Ripley teaming up. This was well worked and I didn't have an issue with the outcome. Fatal Influence have been protected up to this point, but Flair and Ripley needed this victory going into Saturday Night's Main Event (where they'll likely lose). Jade Cargill's post-match attack on Ripley was a nice touch.

Solo Sikoa def. WWE Tag Team Champion Damian Priest

Unsurprisingly, this was no more thrilling than Priest's other singles matches with The MFTs. By that I mean, it was mundane and lifeless. I'm sure this is building to The MFTs getting another opportunity at the WWE Tag Team Championship, but I can't bring myself to care. That said, the story with Priest and Royce Keys has me mildly intrigued, and it's a fine use of Keys for now.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes def. Sami Zayn (Non-Title)

This was set up in a backstage segment earlier in the evening. Similar to Hayes vs. Williams, I'm stunned they gave this away without much advance notice. Of course, they can always go back it down the road once Zayn is more of a full-fledged heel (and we may now be at that point), but I thought what we got was entertaining. The finish was well done with Zayn attempting to take advantage of Gunther distracting Rhodes on the apron only for it to backfire. I loved that Zayn didn't help Rhodes out afterward when he was getting attacked by Gunther.

Overall Show

SmackDown is still a slog to sit through (it can't go back to the two-hour format soon enough), but this was slightly better than most recent editions thanks to the impromptu matches that were made. I have no idea why these things can't be announced or set up in advance, though. The hype for Saturday Night's Main Event and Clash in Italy was effective, but the stuff with The MFTs really drags down the blue brand, and the Women's United States Championship open challenge was uneventful this week.

SEE MORE: SmackDown Reviews